What are the Primary Factors in Comic Success? [POLL]

[claiborneart]

The whole thread about 'it factor' got me thinking about what people feel makes a comic a hit, what lets it stand out from so many other similar comics.

So my question to you is: What is most important to make a comic popular?

• Update Frequency & Regularity
• Quality of Art
• Quality of Writing
• Characters
• Genre
• Marketing & Promotion
• Creator Personality & Engagement with Readers
• Luck
• "IT Factor"

Vote now!Show results

Feel free to either answer about your personal success so far, or about trends you've seen with webcomics in general.

[GesuGesu]

BL genre -laughs into distance with old Tapas joke-

[ZFalk]

I feel like I'll overlook heaps of things that would normally bother me, if the story and storytelling is good - so, like the writing is the most important, I guess? for me, at least. That's the hardest part for me, personally, too, so whenever i see someone nailing writing or storytelling in a comic i'm like

buuut then, if the art's amazing, I'll kind of do the same thing, and give it a longer chance to hook me

[JRHoch]

Well, you have to have a quality product but without marketing very few people will see it. And part of having the right product is understanding the end user or average reader.

I've read quite a few really good webcomics with a small audience while pretty mediocre stuff has taken off because there is a promotional push behind it and the creators better understood the broader marketplace. In many cases, if you ain't "shipping," your comic ain't sailing.

[claiborneart]

Yeah, I feel like the art hooks me to give the comic a full chance, then the writing is the main factor that keeps me. But I do judge by art first.

[vothnthorvaldson]

A combination of everything, in varying proportions?
(Except It factor because I have no idea of what it is. My best guess would be a knack to be close to whatever is popular, in a relatable way, if so, then it's part of what I meant by personality).

[SleepingPoppy]

I think part of what's important is to focus on those things that are within your control. You can always become better at writing, drawing, you can work to be faster, to be more consistent, etc. you can't make people read your comic, but you can redo your thumbnail, revise your summary, etc.

There will never be a guarantee of success, but you can grow, and you can become better. You can increase the odds in your favor.

[graveweaver]

Im not going to try to speak about it subjectively since Im one person with the experiences of a single person, so in my completely biased opinion, writing.

I have often trudged through series' with art i disliked (mob psycho 100 manga, homestuck, attack on titan manga, tokyo ghoul manga) just because I cared about the story. I have never once decided to keep up with a series that was written badly (or even average, average isnt good enough) for its art quality/character designs/whatever else.

I dont really see a lot of series' with weak writing really catch on, but then again, those things also may be popular in places that arent in my internet-bubble.

[IdiotWithPencil]

if we are talking about great qüality art or Writing if you don't promote or talk about it you are dead in the water -.- even bad comics can get popular if you promote it enough

[Jenny-Toons]

Attitude and hype is a big factor for me.

Adding to my previous post, I'm less incline to look at someone's work if they're constantly putting themselves down. I definitely understand the feelings behind why people do it. You can't love your art all the time. Sometimes, you will see the glaring errors and feel you're not going anywhere. And sometimes, there are other reasons people can keep seeing errors in their work. I've had those moments myself.

But when a creator constantly puts their work down and puts themselves down without truly having a nice thing to say about their work or admitting that they've seen some type of improvement, it leaves me as a reader wondering "well, why do you want me here? Why should I even care if you seemingly don't?" It just ends up feeling like I have to constantly give a pity party for them, and that gets exhausting. And frankly, a reader won't always know why a creator does this. And they might not even stick around long enough to hear it out.

I'm not saying a creator has to be happy-go-lucky all the time when posting their work. You don't have to hide your insecurities for fear of losing readers. You should be able to show yourself if you're comfortable. But at the same time...you can't really get upset if and when a reader goes "you're right, this does suck" after constantly hearing the same from you.

I hope I"m making sense. I'm not aiming to step on toes and say "don't be insecure" or "stop putting yourself down". Trust me, I have had those moments.

[snailienz]

What catches me with a comic is...

Good art first off, if their technical skill is at a certain level of unplished, it's hard to get into the story. Having a good style is very important to me personally, and I don't just mean "draws like god blessed their fingertips". I mean is it unique? Does it have appeal? Is the basic stuff like anatomy and lineart solid? If so, usually I'll give it a shot.

Then it's writing. So many comics have lost me because their dialogue sounds dry and lifeless, or because I can tell they didn't do their research on something I personally care about. Or because there just isn't a REASON to keep reading.

Questions. Make me ask questions. Not yes or no questions. "Who is Gretta?" questions "What was THAT??" questions. Then slowly build me up to the answer over time. Once that question is done, propose a new one. It's irresistible. I guarantee you I will swipe right to see more pages until I can no longer.

Last is well....relationships. Not just shipping (though that's a bonus) but like, make me CARE about these characters and their relations with one another. Make the reader want to explore relations between your characters. Especially romantic ones, cause people LOVE to ship things.

If a story has all this usually it ends up on my "DUDE have you read x????" list.

[claiborneart]

Well the nice thing about having this many people taking the time to answer is that the poll can be used as a sort of self-improvement priority checklist. (which may or may not have been part of the reason I made it )

"Alright let's see here....'Quality of Art', time to improve my linework.....next is 'Update Frequency/Regularity', I need work here; okay let's just focus on these two for now"

[skicoak]

Well the nice thing about having this many people taking the time to answer is that the poll can be used as a sort of self-improvement priority checklist. (which may or may not have been part of the reason I made it )

Not saying the poll could be "wrong" but it is primarily made up of fellow creators...so you might not be working on the things that translate to the average readers/success.

But on the plus side...any self improvement is a good thing!

[claiborneart]

Yeah, I'm personally surprised that Genre and Luck have both been rated so low, guess it's not really a fun possibility for creators to have to consider.

[SleepingPoppy]

I just figure that whatever part luck plays, it's only as helpful as you are talented/skilled. Better to focus on those things you can actually control!

[skicoak]

Yeah, I'm personally surprised that Genre and Luck have both been rated so low

From an American print comics industry point of view, just walking into any brick and mortar shop would let you know those readers value specific characters, like Batman, or brand loyalty to like DC or Marvel... but most visible, It's like 90% genre driven.

[claiborneart]

What I find interesting is that most of the genres that are popular online are the opposite of what's popular in print. There's very few popular superhero comics, and those that are are usually genre subversions. Most small publishers and webcomic collectives actually refuse to accept superhero submissions.

On the other hand, genres that you'd be hard-pressed to find in print stores are everywhere online: romance, drama, BL, and so on.

The main exceptions to this are comedy/gag strips and relatable slice-of-life/autobiographic content. Guess it's just too universal to be confined to one market.

[skicoak]

What I find interesting is that most of the genres that are popular online are the opposite of what's popular in print.

At least in the U.S. print markets, I think so much of this is due to the rise of the direct market to brick and mortar comic shops. It just created/evolved into a weird niche bubble of specific genre marketed primarily to a certain demographic.

The growth of the webcomic/small publisher industries are most certainly reflective of creators and readers that weren't being welcomed/felt welcome in the comic shops.

Now that "successful" mainstream superhero titles are only reaching 100,000 readers and that direct market is growing unsustainable, the future of the medium looks to be digital. What that means to the superhero genre has yet to be determined. Those IPs are clearly too valuable to just fade away.

[JRHoch]

They'll just make more movies!

[skicoak]

They'll just make more movies!

Too many IPs to be protected that way... They've barely scratched the surface of their various universes' characters and concepts. They have to have a cost effective place to protect their IPs. It's probably the biggest reason the print industry is hanging on.